Valencia Orange Flan

Called the national dessert of Spain, flan provides a creamy, delicate conclusion to a meal. Using the citrusy-sweet juice of oranges -- another regional specialty of Valencia -- flan continues our party's themes of summer freshness and ease. For a large crowd, you'll need to double the recipe and use two pans.

Prepare Flan: Place a shallow baking pan in the lower third of oven and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large heavy saucepan, combine half-and-half, heavy cream, sugar, and orange zest; bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.

In large bowl, beat egg yolks. Blend 1 cup of cream mixture into the yolks. Stir egg-yolk mixture back into saucepan and heat, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in liqueur. Pour into prepared pie plate and place in the baking pan partly filled with water in the oven.

Bake uncovered 1 1/2 hours or until knife blade inserted in center comes out clean. Remove flan and water bath from oven; cool on a rack, cover, and refrigerate 4 to 5 hours.

To serve, run a knife blade around the edge of the flan, then carefully invert it onto a rimmed serving plate. Allow a moment for the caramel to drip onto the flan. Carefully lift pie plate. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.